Neural Regulation of Calcium and Amylase of Rat Parotid Saliva

Abstract

The course of amylase and Ca secretion into saliva is described under diverse conditions of autonomic stimulation [isoproterenol, pilocarpine and nerve stimulation] of the parotid. For the 1st time Ca levels of saliva were measured under conditions of nerve stimulation. Initial levels of Ca with stimulation of the parasympathetic innervation were as high as those evoked by stimulation of the sympathetic innervation. While Ca and amylase levels were characteristically high with adrenergic stimulation (either following drug administration or nerve stimulation), amylase levels following stimulation of the parasympathetic nerve were characteristically low. A parallelism between secretion of Ca and amylase was not observed under conditions of cholinergic nerve stimulation, but was observed with adrenergic nerve stimulation. With cholinergic nerve stimulation, mediation of Ca and amylase secretion may differ from that observed with adrenergic stimulation.